Plantain is a tropical plant related to banana, but it is bigger and contains more starch than banana. It is mostly eaten when ripe. This staple- green unripe food is rich in iron and potassium while the ripe yellow one is rich in starch and carbohydrate. Any of the two is very okay, but the unripe one is especially good for pregnant women. The iron-enriched drugs they get in their trimesters can be enjoyed by taking plantain.

For children, especially weaning little children and toddlers, plantain is best for them when it is sliced and blended with boiled original Titus fish. This type is prepared like moimoi and children enjoy it a great deal! It has great nutritional value as it is very rich in iron, protein and other vital nutrients,

Plantain can be boiled, roasted, fried or steamed. It can also be combined with other meals to make a tasty recipe. Plantain, either ripe or unripe can be dried, sliced and ground into powder to make a powdery meal that can be eaten in place of Eba, Fufu, Amala and any swallow. When made into this form, it can be eaten with any kind of soup!

It is however pertinent to note that if good care is not taken to select the right kind of plantain, you may end up not enjoying the best of this staple meal. How? If the ones you get are over-ripe, the best taste and flavour may be lost.

Choose the firm and hard unripe ones; store them in a cool and dry place in the kitchen. When you do this, the food ripens naturally and easily without much ado!

Apart from the above mentioned simple methods, plantains can be used for porridge; plantain moimoi .and can be served alongside beans. Hmmmmmmmn enough of all these stories let’s go straight to business and have a feel of this food.

Make the best use of the season’s abundance to create good recipes for your family. Quickly go through this recipes and explore some this plantain delicacy …. expect more recipes.

Iwuk Ukom (Unripe Plantain pottage)

Recipe for 3 servings:

4 unripe plantains

1 kilogram meat [offals]

1 large dried fish (croacke or any other)

3 tablespoon ground crayfish

2 cooking spoons Palm oil

3 small onions [chopped]

1teaspoon ground dried pepper

1 bunch basil (effirin or Nchanwu) or ugu leaves

Salt and seasoning to taste

METHOD:

Wash, peel and dice the plantains. Place in cold water to prevent darkening. Wash and cook the meat with a little salt for about 40 minutes. Pour in some water, add the chopped onion, ground crayfish, the fish, pepper and seasoning to taste. Allow boiling for 10 minutes. Add the palm oil and the remaining salt to taste, stirring at the same time. Wash and add the diced plantain and cook until tender. Stir. Chop the basil or ugu leaves and add to the boiling food. Cook for another two minutes. Simmer, remove from heat and serve.